Overwrap pad tray

ABSTRACT

A tray to support a plurality of containers includes a base portion, a first pair of opposing side walls extending upwardly from the base portion, and a second pair of opposing side walls extending upwardly from the base portion and interconnecting the first pair of opposing side walls to form a shallow tray body. The first and second pairs of opposing side walls have non-linear profiles to conform to outer contours of the containers. A sheet of plastic is wrapped around the containers and tray body to securely hold the containers within the tray.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/221,136, filed Jun. 29, 2009, and U.S. Provisional Application No.61/251,327, filed Oct. 14, 2009.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a plastic pad tray that supports,stores, and transports beverage containers, such as bottles for example,in an overwrap configuration.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Plastic bottles are widely used as containers for beverages such as softdrinks, juice, water, etc. These bottles are often stored andtransported in a shallow cardboard box with a plastic overwrap extendingunderneath the box and around the top of the bottles to securely holdthe bottles in the box. The cardboard box includes a bottom surface andfirst and second pairs of opposing side walls that cooperate to form ashallow cavity. The bottles are placed with the cavity and then arewrapped by a plastic sheet of material to secure the bottles in place.While the cardboard box provides one known inexpensive packagingsolution, even more inexpensive solutions are continually being sought.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A tray to support a plurality of containers includes a base portion, afirst pair of opposing side walls extending upwardly from the baseportion, and a second pair of opposing side walls extending upwardlyfrom the base portion and interconnecting the first pair of opposingside walls to form a shallow tray body. The first and second pairs ofopposing side walls have non-linear profiles to conform to outercontours of the containers.

In one example, the base portion and first and second pairs of opposingside walls are comprised of a single sheet of material. In one example,the single sheet of material comprises a molded plastic body.

The base portion includes a plurality of pockets where each pocket is toreceive one container. In one example, each pocket includes a locatingfeature to locate the container within the pocket. A sheet of plasticmaterial is wrapped around the containers and tray body to securely holdthe containers within the pockets.

These and other features of the present invention can be best understoodfrom the following specification and drawings, the following of which isa brief description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pad tray with bottles according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is top iso view of the pad tray of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom iso view of the pad tray of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the pad tray of FIG. 1 as viewed from oneend.

FIG. 5 a is a side section of the pad tray of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 b is a magnified view of a portion of the side section of the padtray as indicated in FIG. 5 a.

FIG. 6 a is an enlarged section view of one portion of the pad tray ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 6 b is a magnified view of a portion of the pad tray as indicatedin FIG. 6 a.

FIG. 7 is a top iso view of another example of a pad tray according tothe present invention.

FIG. 8 is a bottom iso view of the pad tray of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged bottom iso view of a portion of the pad tray ofFIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a top iso view of another example of a pad tray according tothe present invention.

FIG. 11 is a bottom iso view of the pad tray of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged bottom iso view of a portion of the pad tray ofFIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A pad tray 10 according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. Thepad tray 10 supports a plurality of beverage containers 12, such asplastic or glass bottles, for transport and storage. The pad tray 10comprises a very thin plastic sheet that is molded to provide locatingand positioning features to securely hold bottoms 14 of the beveragecontainers 12 in place. A sheet of plastic material, schematically shownat 16, is then tightly drawn over a top of the beverage containers 12and underneath the pad tray 10 such that the beverage containers 12 aresecurely held in place for storage and/or transport. The attachment ofthe sheet of plastic material is a known process and will not bediscussed in detail.

A top perspective view of the pad tray 10 is shown in FIG. 2. The padtray 10 includes a base portion 18 that forms a bottom support surface,and includes first 20 and second 22 sets of opposing side walls thatextend upwardly from the base portion 18 to form a shallow tray body.The side walls 20, 22 provide non-linear profiles and are shaped tocorrespond to an outer contour of the beverage containers 12. In otherwords, the side walls 20, 22 include discretely spaced curved side wallportions 20 a, 22 a that match the outer shape of the beverage container12. In the example shown, there are three (3) curved side wall portions20 a for each side wall 20 and four (4) curved side wall portions 22 afor each side wall 22 such that twelve beverage containers 12 can besupported by a single pad support. The configuration is especiallyuseful for 32 oz bottles, which are typically arranged in groups oftwelve for transport and storage; however, bottles that are larger orsmaller could also be supported by the pad tray 10. Further, the padtray could be configured to support more or less than twelve bottles ata time.

The base portion 18 is configured to include a plurality of shallowpockets 24 that are discretely located relative to each other. Eachpocket 24 defines a location for one beverage container 12. Each pocket24 includes a flat surface portion 26 and a curved wall portion thatextends upwardly around the flat surface portion 26 to form therespective pocket 24. The curved wall portions include the opposing sidewalls for side and corner pockets. The flat surface portion 26 includesa raised circular disc portion 26 a extending upwardly from the flatsurface portion 26. The raised circular disc portions 26 a providesupport for the bottle sitting within the associated pocket 24 andreduce the possibility of the containers bouncing relative to the padtray 10, which could occur during transport. The circular disc portions26 a also provide locating features such that each beverage container 12is properly located and retained within an associated pocket 24.

In between adjacent rows of pockets 24, a plurality of supports 28 areformed as part of the pad tray 10. In the example shown, six supports 28are formed as part of the pad tray 10. The supports 28 help to preventthe pad tray 10 from flexing near the center where less structuralsupport is provided by the side walls 20, 22. The supports 28 arecomprised of a raised boss portion 30 that extends upwardly from thebase portion 18 at a center location between groups of four pockets 24.The raised boss portion 30 includes curved side walls that form aportion of pocket walls for the centrally located pockets.

The raised boss portion 30 includes an upper surface 32 having a recess34 (FIG. 2) extending downwardly from the upper surface toward the baseportion 18. This recess 34 in the upper surface 32 of the boss portion30 forms a protruding support leg 36 (FIG. 3) that extends downwardlyunderneath the pad tray 10 to provide increased support for the pad tray10 as the pad tray 10 rests on the ground or on top of another group ofcontainers supported by another pad tray 10.

Also as shown in FIG. 3, each pocket 24 includes a bottom surface 40that faces opposite of the flat surface portion 26. Each bottom surface40 includes a recess 42 that corresponds to the circular disc portions26 a that extend upwardly from flat surface portions 26. Further, eachpocket 24 that has a portion that is located along one of the side walls20, 22 includes a protruding rib or lip portion 44 that extendsdownwardly from the bottom surface 40.

For the pockets 24 at the corners, this protruding lip portion 44extends around a significant portion of the outer circumference of thepocket 24, i.e. extends around more than 50% of the outer circumference.For the remaining pockets along the side walls 20, 22, the protrudinglip portion extends less than 50% around the outer circumference.Further, in the example shown, the protruding lip portions 44 for theseremaining pockets are positioned radially inward and closer to a centerof the respective pocket 24 (as indicated at 48) in comparison to theprotruding lip portions 44 for the corner pockets 24, which is bestshown in FIG. 4.

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b show that the distal tips 50 of the protruding legs 36extend down to touch a ground surface. The outer edges of the pad tray10 are supported by the protruding lip portions 44 as shown.

Also as shown in FIGS. 2-4, each pair of adjacent pockets 24 isconnected by an additional wall portion 46 to provide further increasedsupport. The wall portions 46 are configured to include flat linearsurface portions that are in alignment with each other in a row andcolumn relationship.

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b show the circular disc portions 26 a in greaterdetail. As described above, these disc portions 26 a are raised upwardlyfrom the flat surface portion 26 of the pockets 24 and form an arcuatesurface 52. This raised arcuate surface 52 is received within acorresponding recess 54 formed in a bottom surface of the beveragecontainers 12. This serves to locate the containers 12 within thepockets 24 as well as preventing shifting and bouncing movement of thecontainers relative to the pad tray 10 during transport.

FIGS. 7-9 show another example of a pad tray 10′ similar to thatdescribed above, but which does not include the protruding support legs36. In this configuration, in between adjacent rows of pockets 24′, aplurality of raised bosses 60 are formed as part of the pad tray 10′. Inthe example shown, six raised bosses 60 are formed as part of the padtray 10′. The raised bosses 60 include flat surfaces 62 that do notinclude any recesses or protrusions such that a more rigid supportstructure is provided. The raised bosses 60 extend upwardly from thebase portion 18′ at a center location between groups of four pockets24′.

In this example, the centrally located pockets 24′ include protrudingribs or lip portions 64 (FIG. 8) that extend downwardly away from theflat surface portions 26 forming recesses 66 (FIG. 7) in the pockets24′. These lip portions 64 provide a contact surface for contact with astructure underneath the tray to increase the stability at the center ofthe pad tray 10′ by preventing flexing/bending at this location.

FIG. 9 shows one example of the protruding lip portions 64. In thisexample, four lip portions 64 are discretely and equally spaced apartfrom each other about an outer circumference of the centrally locatedpockets 24′. It should be understood that fewer ribs or additional ribscould be used, or that one continuous rib may be formed about thecircumference.

In this example, the side pockets 24′ also include protruding lipportions 44′ that are similar to those described above with regard toFIGS. 2-6. The lip portions 44′ at the corners extend around asignificant portion of the outer circumference of the pocket 24, i.e.extends around more than 50% of the outer circumference. For theremaining pockets 24′ along the side walls 20′, 22′, the protruding lipportion 44′ extends less than 50% around the outer circumference.Further, in the example shown, the protruding lip portions 44′ for theseremaining pockets are positioned radially inward and closer to a centerof the respective pocket 24′ (as indicated at 48′) in comparison to theprotruding lip portions 44′ for the corner pockets 24′, which is bestshown in FIG. 8.

Also, as shown in FIG. 7-9, each pair of adjacent pockets 24′ isconnected by a wall portion 46′ to provide further increased support.The wall portions 46′ are configured to include flat linear surfaceportions that are in alignment with each other in a row and columnrelationship.

FIGS. 10-12 show another example of a pad tray 10″ similar to thatdescribed above with regard to FIGS. 7-9, but which includes a differentprotruding lip configuration near a center of the pad tray 10″. Betweenadjacent rows of pockets 24″, a plurality of raised bosses 60 are formedas part of the pad tray 10″ similar to those shown in FIG. 7.

In this example, a bottom surface of the pad tray 10″ includesprotruding ribs 70 (FIG. 11) that extend downwardly underneath the padtray 10″. These ribs 70 increase the stability at the center of the padtray 10″ to prevent flexing/bending at this location.

FIG. 12 shows one example of the protruding ribs 70. The ribs 70 extendbetween each center located pocket 24″ (indicated by arrow Pc) and theadjacent side pockets at a location where the center wall portions 46′of FIG. 9 are located. In this example, each of the two center pocketsPc, which do not form any part of the side walls 20″, 22″, is associatedwith four (4) ribs 70 that extend radially outward from a center of therespective center pocket toward a center of the adjacent pocket. Sidewall center pockets P20 of side walls 20″ each include one rib 70 thatextends toward a respective one of the center pockets Pc. Side wallcenter pockets P22 of the side walls 22″ also include one rib 70 thatextends toward a respective one of the center pockets Pc.

Each of the ribs 70, which extend downwardly from a bottom surface ofthe pad tray 10″ as shown in FIG. 11, forms a corresponding recess 72(as shown in FIG. 10) where the flat wall portion 46′ of FIG. 7 waspreviously located.

The pockets 24″ along the side walls 20, 22 also include protruding lipportions 44″ that are similar to those described above with regard toFIGS. 7-9. The lip portions 44″ at the corners extend around asignificant portion of the outer circumference of the pocket 24″ (morethan 50% of the outer circumference) while the remaining pockets 24″along the side walls 20″, 22″ have protruding lip portions 44″ thatextend less than 50% around the outer circumference.

Also, as shown in FIG. 10-12, each pair of adjacent pockets 24″ alongthe side walls 20″, 22″ is connected by a wall portion 46″ to providefurther increased support. The wall portions 46″ are configured toinclude flat linear surface portions that are in alignment with eachother in a row and column relationship along the edges.

In one example, the pad trays 10, 10′, 10″ comprise a plastic or othersimilar material that is molded as a very thin sheet of material intoany of the configurations described above. Any type of molding processcan be used to form the pad tray, such as by injection molding forexample. The result is a very thin, plastic pad tray that provides acost savings over cardboard boxes previously utilized to transport andstore beverage containers, while still providing adequate strength andstiffness for supporting the containers.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes andjurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are consideredto represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it shouldbe noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than asspecifically illustrated and described without departing from its spiritor scope.

Further, although a preferred embodiment of this invention has beendisclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize thatcertain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. Forthat reason, the following claims should be studied to determine thetrue scope and content of this invention.

1. A tray to support a plurality of containers comprising: a baseportion; a first pair of opposing side walls extending upwardly from thebase portion; and a second pair of opposing side walls extendingupwardly from the base portion and interconnecting the first pair ofopposing side walls to form a shallow tray body, wherein the first andsecond pairs of opposing side walls have non-linear profiles.
 2. Thetray according to claim 1 wherein the base portion and first and secondpairs of opposing side walls are comprised of a single sheet ofmaterial.
 3. The tray according to claim 2 wherein the single sheet ofmaterial comprises a molded plastic body.
 4. The tray according to claim1 wherein the first and second pairs of opposing side walls are shapedto conform to an outer contour of at least one container.
 5. The trayaccording to claim 4 wherein the first and second pairs of opposing sidewalls are shaped to conform to an outer contour of a plurality ofcontainers.
 6. The tray according to claim 1 wherein the non-linearprofiles comprise a plurality of curved wall portions that are axiallyspaced apart from each other along each of the first and second pairs ofopposing side walls.
 7. The tray according to claim 1 wherein the baseportion includes a plurality of pockets separated from each other by atleast one wall portion, where each pocket is to receive one container.8. The tray according to claim 7 wherein each pocket comprises agenerally flat bottom surface and includes a raised disc portionextending upwardly from the flat bottom surface, the raised disc portioncomprising a locating feature for a container.
 9. The tray according toclaim 7 wherein the pockets are arranged in a series of rows, andwherein between adjacent rows of pockets, a plurality of supports areformed as part of the base portion.
 10. The tray according to claim 9wherein each support comprises a raised boss portion that extendsupwardly from the base portion at a center location between a group offour adjacent pockets.
 11. The tray according to claim 10 wherein eachraised boss portion includes an upper surface including a recess thatextends downwardly from the upper surface to form a support leg tocontact a structure underneath the tray body.
 12. The tray according toclaim 10 wherein each raised boss portion includes an upper surface thatcomprises a generally flat support surface.
 13. The tray according toclaim 7 wherein each pocket that has a portion associated with one ofthe first and second pairs of opposing sides walls includes at least oneprotruding rib that extends downwardly from a bottom surface of the baseportion to contact a structure underneath the tray body.
 14. The trayaccording to claim 13 wherein each pocket that has a portion associatedwith one of the first and second pairs of opposing sides walls comprisesone of a corner pocket or a center side pocket, and wherein theprotruding rib extends around more than 50% of an outer peripheraldimension of each of the corner pockets, and wherein the protruding ribextends around less than 50% of an outer peripheral dimension of each ofthe center side pockets.
 15. The tray according to claim 14 wherein theprotruding ribs for the center side pockets are positioned at a firstradially inward distance relative to a center of the respective centerside pocket and wherein the protruding ribs for the corner pockets arepositioned at a second radially inward distance relative to a center ofthe respective corner pocket, the second radially inward distance beinggreater than the first radially inward distance.
 16. The tray accordingto claim 7 wherein each pocket includes a bottom surface and wherein theat least one wall portion comprises a curved wall that extends upwardlyfrom the bottom surface, and wherein each pair of adjacent pockets isconnected by an additional wall portion to increase support.
 17. Thetray according to claim 16 wherein the additional wall portions compriseflat linear surfaces that are in alignment with each other in a row andcolumn relationship.
 18. The tray according to claim 7 wherein eachpocket includes a raised disc portion that provides an arcuate surfaceto be received within a corresponding recess formed in a bottom surfaceof a container.
 19. The tray according to claim 7 wherein the pluralityof pockets comprise a set of corner pockets, a set of center sidepockets located between the corner pockets and having a portion formedas part of one of the first and second pairs of opposing side walls, anda set of center pockets that are not associated with either of the firstand second pairs of opposing side walls, and wherein at least one of thecenter pockets includes at least one protruding lip portion that extendsdownward from a bottom surface of the pocket to contact a structureunderneath the tray body.
 20. The tray according to claim 19 wherein theat least one protruding lip portion comprises a plurality of protrudinglip portions that are circumferentially spaced apart from each otherabout the center pocket.
 21. The tray according to claim 19 wherein eachof the corner pockets and each of the center side pockets includes adownwardly protruding rib to contact a structure underneath the traybody.
 22. The tray according to claim 21 wherein the protruding ribextends around more than 50% of an outer dimension of each of the cornerpockets, and wherein the protruding rib extends around less than 50% ofan outer dimension of each of the center side pockets.
 23. The trayaccording to claim 7 wherein the plurality of pockets comprise a set ofcorner pockets, a set of center side pockets located between the cornerpockets and having a portion formed as part of one of the first andsecond pairs of opposing side walls, and a set of center pockets thatare not associated with either of the first and second pairs of opposingside walls, and wherein each of the center pockets is connected toadjacent pockets via a protruding rib that extends downwardly from abottom surface of the base portion.
 24. The tray according to claim 23wherein the corner pockets and center side pockets are connected to eachother via at least one wall portion comprising flat linear surfaces thatare non-coplanar with a bottom surface of the protruding ribs.
 25. Thetray according to claim 7 including a sheet of plastic wrapped aroundthe containers and tray body to securely hold the containers within thepockets.
 26. The tray according to claim 7 wherein the plurality ofpockets comprise a set of corner pockets, a set of center side pocketslocated between the corner pockets and having a portion formed as partof one of the first and second pairs of opposing side walls, and a setof center pockets that are not associated with either of the first andsecond pairs of opposing side walls, and wherein at least one of thecenter pockets is connected to each adjacent pocket with a rib thatextends downwardly to contact a structure underneath the tray body. 27.The tray according to claim 7 wherein each pocket includes a bottomsurface with the at least one wall portion comprising a curved wall thatextends upwardly around a perimeter of the bottom surface, wherein thecurved wall is shaped to conform to an outer contour of a container. 28.The tray according to claim 27 wherein the curved wall is discontinuousat a connection location to each adjacent pocket.
 29. The tray accordingto claim 28 wherein the connection locations comprise an additional wallportion that extends transversely relative to the respective curvedwall.